gmp
I wonder if it’s MS Defender? This my DAW, so I try not to do much internet work, except those related to my DAW. So I dot[‘ have any virus software installed, since I’m careful. So what could be updating without my permission?

Hmmmm???  Windows will automatically download and install definitions updates once a day for you.  Wonder if there is ever anything extra packaged with that?
 
http://www.microsoft.com/...l/definitions/adl.aspx
 
fyi:  I keep Defender disabled, since I run Avira AV for protection.  And so far I have seen none of the issues reported with Sonar or plugins.

mcdonalk
 
However, based on my observations both in this forum and with Sonar on my PC, I regret to say that I suspect that the monthly update model does not allow enough time for thorough regression testing.

 

Lance Riley [Cakewalk]

It has come to our attention that a recent Windows 10 update has introduced instability in a subset of our plug-ins and may cause SONAR or other Windows DAWs to crash. The problem is related to a change in the timing for thread initialization on Windows, which leads to intermittent crashing on project load, plug-in scanning, or adding these plug-ins to a project. We are able to reproduce the issue and it appears to only affect some systems since it is timing related. We are actively working on a resolution and will release fixes to the affected plugins as soon as possible.

 
I suppose this could imply the same thing for Microsoft's monthly cumulative update model.
 
If one fails to make a regular backup image, in order to have have something to fall back on, well ...
 
If one cannot afford any downtime or interruptions to your workflow, why update your main DAW with just released software, without testing it first.  How could Microsoft or Cakewalk test every specific PC config for full compatibility?  In the Windows ecosystem, there is a nearly infinite number of variables in end user setups.
 
In the business world it's referred to as disaster recovery.  It's the customer's responsibility to be prepared for anything going wrong in their operational environment. Sooner or later something will break, no matter how well you are prepared.
 
The software development model has changed.  It's called agile development, so it's time to accept that and protect yourself.  Or live with the consequences.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/...e_software_development
Agile software development describes a set of principles for software development under which requirements and solutions evolve through the collaborative effort of self-organizing cross-functional teams. It advocates adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, and continuous improvement, and it encourages rapid and flexible response to change. These principles support the definition and continuing evolution of many software development methods.

Apple have been trying to persuade web developers to move away from Flash and to a better, more secure platform such as HTML5 for ages. Steve Jobs was critical of it several years ago. And Apple aren't alone in that.

I get a "Flash update required for security fixes" on Macs about once a week or once every ten days. It seems someone somewhere finds a flaw in Flash almost as soon as a new release comes out.

And, like Acrobat, it auto loads resident "helper" processes despite it making no difference if they are loaded or not other than maybe a few milliseconds delay in application launch.

abacab

mcdonalk
 
However, based on my observations both in this forum and with Sonar on my PC, I regret to say that I suspect that the monthly update model does not allow enough time for thorough regression testing.

 

Lance Riley [Cakewalk]

It has come to our attention that a recent Windows 10 update has introduced instability in a subset of our plug-ins and may cause SONAR or other Windows DAWs to crash. The problem is related to a change in the timing for thread initialization on Windows, which leads to intermittent crashing on project load, plug-in scanning, or adding these plug-ins to a project. We are able to reproduce the issue and it appears to only affect some systems since it is timing related. We are actively working on a resolution and will release fixes to the affected plugins as soon as possible.

 
I suppose this could imply the same thing for Microsoft's monthly cumulative update model.
 
If one fails to make a regular backup image, in order to have have something to fall back on, well ...
 
If one cannot afford any downtime or interruptions to your workflow, why update your main DAW with just released software, without testing it first.  How could Microsoft or Cakewalk test every specific PC config for full compatibility?  In the Windows ecosystem, there is a nearly infinite number of variables in end user setups.
 
In the business world it's referred to as disaster recovery.  It's the customer's responsibility to be prepared for anything going wrong in their operational environment. Sooner or later something will break, no matter how well you are prepared.
 
The software development model has changed.  It's called agile development, so it's time to accept that and protect yourself.  Or live with the consequences.
 

Man I agree with you totally and have for decades lived by this principle and Murphy's Law. Almost every PC will go haywire in time, so you better be prepared for disaster.
 
Restore points are good, but I prefer keeping my C drive as lean as possible and making image files, so I can revert back to a previous state where everything works. I also back up my 3 networked computers every night and check that it did indeed backup every night too.
 
Actually this is the first bug that has almost caught me flat footed. 2 weeks ago I got the first runtime error using 2016.09 and reverting back to the previous image didn't fix it. Something from the internet is updating or corrupting things so I get the runtime error. Fortunately I have an easy workaround

win 10 home users can disable updates via the method you mention, disabling the windows update service. I have been doing it for ages on both professional and home versions, absolutely 0 issues (forgive me if i misunderstood you)

gmp, have you looked in the event viewer to see if the error is logged there ?
If it is logged, it should tell you what generated the error.
Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Event Viewer
Look in the logs for all the sources. In the upper left . System, Windows, Apps,etc.

microapp

Defender is updated via Windows update so if you disable the update service, Defender will not update nor will anything else Windows related.

Defender has it's own updater.  It can still get updates with Windows update turned off.  It can work either way, by design.
https://www.microsoft.com...l/definitions/adl.aspx
 
Windows Defender can check online for updated definitions before scanning.  The scans are enabled with Task Scheduler Add arguments box, type -SignatureUpdate
http://www.thewindowsclub.com/update-windows-defender-automatic-windows-updates-disabled

microapp
The first link is dead.
The second link refers to changing update settings and not disabling the service.
If the sevice is disabled, Defender will not update.
 

Link fixed.  Not clear on the exact effect of turning off automatic Windows updates, vs. completely disabling the service.  If the Defender needs the WU service for a manual update, then that would probably break it.
 
You can turn off Windows automatic updates in Pro, so it's not really necessary to disable the service.  WU is the usual mechanism for providing Defender updates, but you can still get the Defender updates manually, or by Task Scheduler using a scheduled scan.
 
But really the whole point to my originally even mentioning this, was the possibility that Microsoft or another provider has a silent update at work here.  I was using Defender as an example of something that can update, even with WU auto update turned off.

Seems to be a problem that the standalone VSTs need to be changed from 48 kHz to 44 before they will run in Ableton Live at least on my system.
 
Definitely annoying but only needs to be done one time? I hope.
 
Nope, Live still crashed after changing ZT3A 64 bit to 44kHz 
 
 
 
 

microapp
gmp, have you looked in the event viewer to see if the error is logged there ?
If it is logged, it should tell you what generated the error.
Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Event Viewer
Look in the logs for all the sources. In the upper left . System, Windows, Apps,etc.

I haven't looked at the event viewer, but I have saved a minidump and sent that to Cakewalk when I got a runtime error. Should I check the event log after any runtime crash or should I check it after reverting to my 10/23 image and waiting for my first runtime error? The runtime errors can start almost right away or it may take 30 min or so. Once something from the internet does it's thing then I consistently always get runtime errors.

I think there are three factors at work here. Ms made two changes in the Dec13 that directly affect us - a change in timing that exposed old cw code that needs to be  updated - and a change in the way windows communicates with audio drivers. 
 
Three weeks ago I could play an mp3 or mp4 in Vlc. Didn't matter what sample rate the adapter was set to at the time, it reset the adapter to the clip's rate, played the clip, then reset the adapter to what it was on exit. Now, if the adapter is not set correctly for the clip, I get no audio. I can pause playback, open the adapter control panel, reset it, return to vlc and unpause, now I have audio. 
 
I know there is a driver issue because vegas has crashed frequently lately, and when I close the crash window, I see the speaker icon with a red line through it saying no audio device available. In the middle of a video session. If I uninstall the reinstall the audio driver alls well for a while… 
 
I've also seen on other forums that ms uninstalls legacy 1394 firewire drivers as part of updates. I now keep the legacy 1394 driver on the desktop to reinstall whenever ms has removed it… 
 
I was going to update my m-audio firewire 1814 to an m-audio express after the holiday. Now I'll wait until cw chimes in again. 

dlion16
I think there are three factors at work here. Ms made two changes in the Dec13 that directly affect us - a change in timing that exposed old cw code that needs to be  updated - and a change in the way windows communicates with audio drivers. 
 
Three weeks ago I could play an mp3 or mp4 in Vlc. Didn't matter what sample rate the adapter was set to at the time, it reset the adapter to the clip's rate, played the clip, then reset the adapter to what it was on exit. Now, if the adapter is not set correctly for the clip, I get no audio. I can pause playback, open the adapter control panel, reset it, return to vlc and unpause, now I have audio. 
 
I know there is a driver issue because vegas has crashed frequently lately, and when I close the crash window, I see the speaker icon with a red line through it saying no audio device available. In the middle of a video session. If I uninstall the reinstall the audio driver alls well for a while… 
 
I've also seen on other forums that ms uninstalls legacy 1394 firewire drivers as part of updates. I now keep the legacy 1394 driver on the desktop to reinstall whenever ms has removed it… 
 
I was going to update my m-audio firewire 1814 to an m-audio express after the holiday. Now I'll wait until cw chimes in again. 

I have not yet seen WU revert to non-legacy 1394 drivers but I will certainly check this out. My FW-1884 latency is awful w/o the legacy drivers and it is something that may go unnoticed unless a problem occurs.
I am worried they may drop the legacy(kernel-mode) firewire driver all together. If that happems, it is new interface time.

Sonar crashes when I close a project if during the session I added and or removed any UAD plug-ins.

This ...
 
12/20 Update:
 
http://forum.cakewalk.com...-updates-m3526221.aspx